Happy Birthday Della Cascade - 5 years old!

 As our Christmas Baby we strive to separate Della's birthday from that all encompassing holiday. So, on a recent random Saturday, Della turned 5!

We apparently forgot to brush her hair. 

Yes, we are using the tiny toddler proof tree for one more year. 

Yes, Christmas paper is a little to handy when celebrating holiday birthdays. 

This year Della clipped out newspaper advertisements for 3 things she wanted as gifts. 

A barbie furniture set. A stuffed cat that births kittens. A nerf bow & arrow. 

This is a summary of mommies thought process while evaluating the given options: 

I am absolutely not going to give her a creepy cat with its bum perpetually up in the air while birthing kittens over and over. Any guesses where that conversation would go? 

Someday, when you're older and won't shoot your brother, you can have the nerf weapon.

Why just barbie furniture? Don't you need a house? 

Barbie houses are expensive, and we all know shell get bored of it sooner than later ... 

Pink Plastic ... so not realistic.

Ah! Amazon Deal ... a barbie vacation house!! 

Built in furniture. It folds up for easy storage. On sale.

All good things. 

While she was a little miffed at first at the lack of movable furniture she has played with this barbie vacation home every-single-night since her birthday. Della waits until her obnoxious brother goes to bed and then carefully takes out and sets up the barbie vacation property in the living room. Last night there were different colored towels around the floor to represent the beach, the ocean, the grassy field. I'd say this gift is a win-win. 

Does anyone else struggle with making simple decisions on behalf of your children?

I nearly had a panic attack when the local baskin-n-robins was closed and the grocery store options for ice cream cake were chocolate and chocolate brownie! 

It probably help if we planned ahead a little. 

Or if I was a Martha-f'n-Stewart type. 

But we don't. And I'm not. 

So our kids get whatever ice cream cake looks less freezer burned. 

They don't seem to mind. 

Yet. 

To my 5 year old Della. 

You are amazing. Every single day. 

You're sassy, smart, observant, quick witted, and oh-so caring. 

You are a born leader who likes a challenge and you are not afraid to try new things (except food). 

You are so very considerate, kind, and polite (unless it involves your brother). 

Before you were born I would pray that you would be healthy, happy, and strong. 

You are all of the above and more. 

 You so badly want to be just like your mama but your mama is so pleased to watch your true personality shine through. Della, whoever you grow up to be, I have no doubt you will be amazing.

You are one of a kind. 

Your are ours and we are yours. 

Family forever and ever.  

Black Friday - Fort Worden

This year we elected to get outside for Black Friday. We bundled up, loaded up, and headed out to Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. It had been years since either Stark or I had visited and neither of us had taken time to explore the old Fort itself. 

As long as your kiddos can listen to commands such as *STOP* and have instinctual caution around exposed edges and dangerous drop offs ... then I highly recommend the trip. 

Traveling to the Park. 

  It was cold and a bit blustery but otherwise a nice NW day on the coast. 

 A freshly minted 3 year old  Mr. Huck

 Huck is very much in the stage of  following and mimicking his big sister. It's pretty cute until Della gets sassy and Huck reinforces it!

Watching a tanker ship come round the bend. 

Huck was enthralled. 

Note Della with a handful of large rocks for her 'collections'. I told her she could bring home what she could carry. We ended up with 2 large cobbles in the back yard ... 

one from each pocket.  

I Spy ... a Red Channel Marker!

Goodness they're cute. 

 Huck Leading the way

  CAUTION

Unprotected Edges!!!

They both did so well. And had SO MUCH FUN!

 Listening to their own Echos!

 A recording so you can laugh along!

Playing Hide-n-Seek

Della loves to be playfully frightened. 

Huck not so much. 

 Our goofball. 

 Our Cautious Adventurer. 

 Why don't you two run around the circle

** so mommy can relax for a moment without fearing you'll run off the edge**

  Mommy laughing when Huck gets stuck in the tall weeds when trying to get out of the circle. 

 Lots of nooks n crannies to explore

 Perfect low-crowd day!

 Help me roll it Huck!

 The trip back to the car. 

 I should note that at this point Huck lost his shit. The boy went screaming crazy. 

As I escorted Della back to the car from the bathroom I could hear him screaming from afar. 

Some poor lady was hesitating as she crossed the parking lot in front of us
and I could tell she was trying to decide if Huck was in trouble or not.
She headed off before I had the opportunity to confirm that Huck was fine
and simply protesting his daddy trying to change his poopy diaper. 

Just moments later. 

Down for the count. 

Mission accomplished. 

 I LOVE that my kiddos LOVE the outdoors. 

On any given day they'd prefer to visit the Mountains, the Woods, the Beach ... 

anything to get outside and explore,
Rain or Shine.

Both of them have started to connect their namesakes to a love for wilderness adventure. 

Huck Rainier & Della Cascade

Its a beautiful thing. 

Maine - Subsea Cable Installation

In early November mama headed back to Maine to oversee the start of her 7-mile subsea cable installation operation. After months of planning and coordination, including the trip to Norway, the cable had arrived at the Project Site, the equipment was mobilized, and all subcontractors were on-site and ready to start work!

The cable lay barge and tugs. 

At 190 x 60 it was a large barge although the size of the 2500hp tugs make it look small. 

 We lucked out and had beautiful weather the majority of the operation. 

Mama snagged this sweet vacation rental in the off season. 

 It was cozy, rustic, with outstanding views, and had a multitude of hiking trails along the coast line.
Including a trail to this great little sea cave.

 Maine has crazy moss! So thick you sink nearly 6 inches as you walk across. 

 The supermoon caught us off guard. 

Although beautiful it created some access issues due to the extreme low tides. 

 For those interested in the cable lay. The cable was delivered from Norway in that large blue steel basket. The basket was set directly onto our barge and the A-frame with cable rollers was mounted over the top. 

 The cable is threaded up through the funnel, travels down the roller chute, and into the cable engines which help control tension. 

 It exits the engines and travels into the Plow which is positioned on the seafloor. The plow uses 200psi water to jet a trench into the seafloor and deposit the cable at the bottom, approximately 1.5 meters below the seafloor.

As the barge moves along the cable route it deposits the cable in the trench. 

It took approximately 10 days to traverse 6+ miles. We hit some hard digging that slowed things up but on our best day we covered nearly a mile. 

 And of course, Turtle was there to supervise.